Pulusuk or Houk Island is a village and

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

in the state of Chuuk,

Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia (; abbreviated FSM) is an island country in Oceania. It consists of four states from west to east, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosraethat are spread across the western Pacific. Together, the states comprise a ...

. It is a small island that lies at the end of a long submerged

atoll An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...

. Pulusuk is part of the

Pattiw Pattiw or Western Islands is the name of the westernmost area of the State of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, consisting of the three islands or atolls of Houk, Poluwat and Pollap, with a total land area of and a population of 2,73 ...

group, located to the west of Chuuk. The first recorded sighting by Europeans was by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

naval officer

Juan Antonio de Ibargoitia ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...

commanding the vessel ''Filipino'' in 1799. He charted it as ''Bartolomé''.

Houk Airfield

Houk Airfield consists of a paved runway that cuts through the forested south end of the island. The rudimentary airport is not serviced (no passenger terminal, no hangars or no fuel). Caroline Islands Air has chartered flights to the airfield.

References

Municipalities of Chuuk State Islands of Chuuk State {{Micronesia-geo-stub